Avery Johnson’s Exit Interview

Avery Johnson enters his life as the former coach of the Dallas Mavericks proud of what he’s accomplished, secure that he handled himself with integrity and ready to move on to the next professional challenge. The man dubbed the “Little General” years ago didn’t hint at what that challenge might be, but expect to see him on the sidelines again.

Dressed in a brown pin-striped suit and yellow open-collared shirt, Johnson met with reporters today in the lobby of his uptown condo building. He talked about the peaks and valleys of the three-plus years of his first head-coaching gig after replacing Don Nelson, and the decision made by owner Mark Cuban and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson to take the franchise in another direction.

Opening statement:

First of all, I want to say thank you to all of our players that have played here for me in the last 3 ½ years, four including my assistant stint. All of our players that put on a Maverick uniform, they cooperated, they were coachable and we have a lot of great memories here with our players.

I want to thank Mark for taking a shot and a swing on me four years ago as an assistant, to think enough of me to bring me in immediately, he and Nellie, to make me an assistant head coach without any experience. I’ve enjoyed my time here working with Mark. We had a lot of great moments. And we had a lot of fun. [Read]